Ah, let me tell you about the life of a lady with grown-out roots! Hair dye is a CONSTANT topic of conversation between me and my neighbors, it seems, because when I run into my buddies who live nearby, we’re always talking about the last time we went to the salon to touch up roots. It’s the newest way to make polite conversation between women, ha ha ha!
For me, it’s been a minute since my hair was dyed. Fall of 2018 was the last time. That’s when I started this little experiment of growing out my grays. How much you can see them depends on how I part my hair and the lighting, and although I’ve been told it looks nice, I’m still keeping the door open again to color my hair in the future ’cause I like to switch things up every once in a while (although the pandemic has prevented that from happening, so it probably won’t be for a long time!).
How about you? When was the last time you dyed your hair?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Rachel says
July 28th, 2020 at 9:34 amI was coloring my hair pretty regularly before the pandemic. I was doing blonde highlights and it kept getting blonder and blonder, and unfortunately more damaged. So I think I’m just gonna grow out my natural color (light brown). I have been in to get a trim since our salons re-opened and everyone has to wear masks.
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:23 pmHi Rachel,
I’ve gone lighter with color and it seems like lighter I would go, the rougher it was on my hair. It’s a LOT of TLC, so I totally get it! You might want to grab a good hair mask if you don’t have one already. It really does help.
Rachel says
July 28th, 2020 at 3:02 pmYes I try to put on a hair mask at least weekly and it does help between trims!
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 3:13 pmIf you haven’t tried the ones by Hask, do it ASAP! Super affordable and they work great!
Rachel says
July 28th, 2020 at 6:39 pmI will! Thank you for the recommendation!
Karen says
July 29th, 2020 at 8:16 amYou’re welcome! I wrote about them a while ago, here’s the post in case you want to read it!
Kim says
July 28th, 2020 at 11:12 amHow can it really have been Fall 2018? It doesn’t even seem possible! It’s like in your profile when you have “my four year old daughter”. I’m always like “isn’t Connor still two!?”. 🙂 Anyway, I think your touch of gray looks nice. Mine would be totally gray if I let it grow out and I’d look 10 years older (or more) so I touch up my roots at home every 2 weeks.
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:24 pmHi Kim,
I KNOW. She’s already halfway to five (WAHHH!). Everyone says that you blink and the time passes by and it’s so true!
How are you at doing the at-home coloring, by the way? I was so bad at it!
Kim says
July 31st, 2020 at 8:36 amI hear you! I think I’m going to have a complete breakdown next year. Just thinking about it makes me tear up and, of course, want to smother the boys with cuddles (which they SO love….). HAHA!
Your hair is really thick so I think that makes it much harder. Mine is no prob. I just part with the pointy, handle end of a coloring brush, slap the color on the roots and move to the next eighth/quarter inch section and repeat. I’m sure it’s a bit sloppier in the back but, luckily, it still works out fine. What part did you struggle with?
Karen says
July 31st, 2020 at 1:28 pmALL THE PARTS. The back especially, though. I think doing the back (and not being able to see what was happening back there) was the primary reason the dye ended up everywhere.
Kim says
August 5th, 2020 at 10:23 amHAHA! Oh, stop! But I’m sure yours is more challenging because of the length and the thickness. It can be messy for sure. I find that I hate any color that uses a bottle for application. I’ll actually dump it in a color bowl and use a brush, even if it’s on the thin side. For me, it’s a lot easier to control. 🙂
Suzanne C says
July 28th, 2020 at 11:18 amIf only it were just a matter of beautiful streaks of white/gray like your’s! But my all-over color is fading to a weird non-color, too. (Greige hair is not attractive.) So, I keep dyeing. I started using Madison Reed color back in April and I probably won’t go back to having it done at the salon. It’s much less expensive and the color looks good.
And in similar news, I’m even thinking of trimming my own hair! Florida has become such a nightmare, I just stay in as much as possible. And my stylist is out indefinitely having a baby. So I think YouTube and I can do it!
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:28 pmOh my gosh, GOOD LUCK! I watched a bunch of Youtube videos when I thought about trimming my own hair and I just ended up more confused. LOL!
Jennifer says
July 28th, 2020 at 11:18 amGirl, I cannot go bravely into that gray night.
Your hair looks fabulous and your grays look effortlessly casual yet elegant. They are coming in perfectly.
My grays on the other hand, and my hairdresser will attest, are coming in splotches. Yes I’ve got strands of gray through out but I also have sad little patches of gray, particularly on top of my head, which just looks bad.
So, back to your question, it will have been five weeks on Friday since I had my hair colored. I have my next appointment on Friday Aug. 7.
Jennifer recently posted … Best Salsa Recipe Using Canned Tomatoes (Just 5 Ingredients!)
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:08 pmNice, that’s right around the corner! I still remember the feeling of fresh roots. It’s the best!
Lauren says
July 28th, 2020 at 11:37 amI have never dyed my hair. In my teen years the closest I came was lemon juice and sitting in the sun. I started to go gray in my late 30’s, 60 now and it is just me!
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:07 pmHi Lauren,
Everyone I knew as a teen and pre-teen did lemon juice highlights too, LOL! Sun-In was also very popular amongst my friends.
Marcia says
July 28th, 2020 at 11:46 amI just dyed my hair the first week of July. Unfortunately, my gray hair is mainly in the front. My salon closed again. I’m actually getting used to coloring my own hair, the only downside is that drugstore hair dyes fade quicker. But since the budget is tight, I’ll stick to dying my own hair for now. If I get ambitious, one of these days I’ll try highlights.
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:06 pmHi Marcia,
Good for you! I tried doing my own demi-permanent color for a bit but I didn’t enjoy it, and it eventually just because a pain. The hardest part for me was controlling the dye. It ended up on the towels, the walls, the floors… Apparently I’m a mess, hahaha. I did like the flexibility of doing it at home and not having to schedule the appointment. Plus saving the money felt great! I might go back to doing it eventually.
Anywho, I hope you had a nice weekend and that your week is off to a good start.
Jennifer Baird says
July 28th, 2020 at 12:51 pm3 weeks ago! Masks were worn and I was the only client in there. The salon I go to takes safety super seriously they went above and beyond. Anyhoo, I like to play around with my red hair and change things up so I still color it. (My natural hair color is a dark auburn chest nutty red) I do have more grey now than I thought but I will be honest I don’t want to embrace the grey just yet lol. 🤪❤️
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:02 pmHi Jennifer,
Oh, how fun! When I was getting my hair colored I loved experimenting just for fun. Do you typically do big changes with your red color, or are you more subtle?
Stacey says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:07 pmI’ve used semi permanent color the last couple of decades. For some reason when I got my hair cut at the end of February I told my stylist that I was going to stop so that my greys could show. They don’t look bad (though not as good as yours), but I’m still not crazy about my natural color so I’ve been thinking of going back to the dark side, literally.
Karen says
July 28th, 2020 at 1:26 pmOoh, what color are you thinking of doing?
Eileen says
July 28th, 2020 at 4:03 pmThe last time I colored my hair was 42 years ago! LOL My grey had just started really coming in about the time I became pregnant. Back then, we were told that it was dangerous to color our hair during pregnancy so I stopped covering up the grey. Then, once the baby was born, I was just entirely too busy to worry about covering the grey. Over the years I’ve progressed from scattered silver strands to salt ‘n pepper to predominantly grey. It works for me. I get compliments all the time on my long silver hair.
Christine says
July 28th, 2020 at 4:25 pm1986. I wanted egg plant purple hair but didn’t know that I first had to LIFT color (I’ a 1-1B) in order to DEPOSIT color. Durrhh… this was clearly before cosmetology school. But yeah, that was the last time I colored my hair.
Oh wait, I think I did chunks of brown/red in 2008 or so.
Today I am probably under 5 % silver. I just turned 49. Maybe I’ll do balayage later on but I won’t be covering the silver.
Chelsea says
July 28th, 2020 at 5:57 pmI’ve been experimenting with Overtone during the past month or two – just the ginger color, it brightens my natural red hair the perfect amount.
I don’t have any greys (and redheads don’t go grey so much as kind of a beige color as we lose pigment), I just want my hair a little more vibrant.
Michele DiCola says
July 28th, 2020 at 6:14 pmI get Madison Reed hair color delivered .
So I color my hair every 4/5 weeks .
Or actually Mr Bill does my hair .
It looks great !
Sarah says
July 28th, 2020 at 7:09 pmActually you were one of the first ones to inspire me to grow my gray in, Karen!! I’m only 12 weeks in and mostly just have the gray at my temples, but Im LOVING the process. I used to get so anxious at the first sight of them and then by the fifth week I was always ready to cover them up…I’m DONE. Sick of the cost, the upkeep, getting literally panicky that the salons were closed and not being able to color. My husband is silver and white; we are 42 and 43. Men are called “silver foxes” and women are considered frumpy, letting themselves “go”, etc….I’m just ready to embrace it. Manly for health reasons. I have Chronic Lyme Disease (22 years strong) and I’m getting sensitive to all chemicals due to bombing my body with antibiotics for years on end….I promised myself I’d give it until November 7 (exactly six months) before I even think of going back. Joined a couple of groups on FB with tons of women who’ve decided to go gray, especially because of COVID. But you were the first to inspire me, so thank you, Karen!! <3
Karen says
July 29th, 2020 at 8:15 amHi Sarah,
You’re very welcome! It’s a big adjustment, for sure. But isn’t it cool how once you get over the hardest part of the growth process how freeing it feels?
There are some challenges, though, I’ve had with embracing the gray. My biggest is frizz! My hair seems much drier and unrulier now that I’m not coloring it. How about you? Is yours still behaving the same?
Sarah says
July 29th, 2020 at 6:16 pmThe bulk of my grays are above my temples, like two horns on top of my head, lol. I’m only at three months so it’s not long enough to see texture issues yet but I have heard a lot of women say that it’s coarser and doesn’t lay flat like their colored hair. I’m interested to see as it grows in. But I love the freeing feeling for sure!! Have had a few negative comments (from men I work with, of course) but trying not to let it get to me. 🙂
Karen says
July 30th, 2020 at 7:04 amOh, that sounds kind of cool! Like two purposeful gray streaks, almost!
So the big difference I’ve noticed is that my gray hairs at my hair line stick up in all kinds of odd directions. They don’t want to listen to me AT ALL. LOL! I used to just let my hair air dry on its own without anything in it but that’s no longer the case; when I get out of the shower (and before I air dry), I do a leave-in conditioner from my roots to the mid-shaft, a hair oil on the mid-shaft to the ends, and a good old fashioned gel (so old school!) on the hairs along my hair line to get them to lay flat. They still stick up here and there but it’s a little less crazy now!
Everyone with grays also says that you’ve gotta get a purple shampoo and conditioner. I’ve yet to do this but will eventually!
Tasha says
July 28th, 2020 at 10:27 pmI love your silver strands I think you should continue to rock them! They look beautiful. I went to the salon a couple weeks ago after waiting a year and it didn’t really turn out how I wanted so I almost feel natural is just best! 🙂
Karen says
July 29th, 2020 at 8:10 amThanks, Tasha. I’ve grown to like them. Still don’t know if I’ll keep them but for now it’s good!
Sorry to hear that your hair didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Did something happen with the color or cut?
Nikki Wogoman says
July 28th, 2020 at 11:13 pmI’ve actually never dyed my hair, for 3 reasons: 1) I’m in my late 20s, 2) I’m a wimp about destroying my virgin hair, and 3) my hair naturally does interesting color things-it’s mostly brown with red highlights, but there are also some blonde strands (I’ve pulled them out to hold them against a white background-if it shows up against the white, it’s blonde; if not, it’s gray) around my face and sometimes a blue cast around the crown. However, once I reach the point where I have more gray hairs than hairs of any other color and therefore have nothing left to lose, I fully intend to be that old lady who’s dying her hair a different color every few weeks!
Karen says
July 29th, 2020 at 8:09 amThat’s cool that your hair has so much dimension!
Bebe says
July 29th, 2020 at 2:54 amHi Ladies
I did my hair two weeks after the salons got open again. Mind you it was very hard to get an appointment. I can’t live without a regular hair cut and color/ highlights.
It’s one of those things that I need to have done. Having said that I can say big ‘thank you’ to the pandemic bc it gave my hair a nice break and my hair feels healthier
Cheers
Bebe
Karen says
July 29th, 2020 at 8:09 amHi Bebe,
Glad to hear you were able to grab an appointment! I bet your hair looks fabulous.
Tatiana says
July 29th, 2020 at 11:41 amI keep thinking it was just 4 or 5 years ago that I stopped coloring my hair. But Dear Husband found a photo of me and Dear Daughter standing in front of the GG Bridge from 2013 on his phone and I was already completely grown out with streaks of gray in that photo. So maybe 2011? Great, now my memory is going too.
Rachel Runyan says
July 29th, 2020 at 2:07 pmHubby helped me dye mine a couple weeks ago. Prior to that, it was early March, and it was not looking pretty.